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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, JULY 1, 2017
LIHEAP signups begin Monday
OBITUARIES
SUNIGA—George
R
Suniga, 86, of Salem, was born
Jan. 13, 1931, in Ojai, Calif., to
Espiridion Suniga and Loretta
Chavez Suniga.
George Suniga
He died surrounded by his
loving wife and daughters on
June 21, at home in Salem,
after a 2-1/2 year battle with
cancer.
In 1944, George’s mother
and stepfather, Arthur Powers,
moved from California to
Florence, when George and his
brother, Frank, were young
boys. He gifted the boys with
little hatchets and put them to
work clearing a 40-acre tract of
land in Westlake, where togeth-
er they built a small home.
George attended school in
Florence but quit as a sopho-
more to enlisted in the U.S.
Navy. He was stationed on the
USS Orleck, patrolling in the
Pacific before being honorably
discharged in 1950.
He then returned to Florence
and finished his senior year,
graduating with the Siuslaw
High School class of 1951.
George married his high
school sweetheart, Beverly
Bernard, in 1952.
In the early 50s, he brought
his wife and two baby daugh-
ters to Salem to find work. He
and Beverly would have two
more daughters after moving to
Salem. He was lucky to find his
first construction job as a car-
penter with Truitt Woodworth,
a general contractor in Salem.
In 1956, he started his own
construction business, Sun
Valley Homes.
In 1961, he built his first
nursing home and eventually
built and owned five. By 1964,
George was the largest home
builder in Salem and was elect-
ed president of the Salem
Home Builders Association; to
this day he is still a member.
Over the years, George
developed dozens of residential
subdivisions in the Willamette
Valley, several apartment com-
plexes, office buildings, a drug
rehab center, and built hun-
dreds of homes. In 1984, he
built a manufacturing plant in
Salem and manufactured spas
under the name of Mt. Hood
Spas.
In 1985, George married his
second wife, Linda Wallace.
They worked together daily in
the construction business and
were never apart.
They remained happily mar-
ried throughout the remainder
of his life.
George had many hobbies
over the years, the most excit-
ing being a boat racer in the
early 60s; his boat hung in
Bridges Marine for many
years.
He was a charter member of
Illahe Country Club. He loved
to travel, especially to Las
Vegas, where he saw all of the
big names over the years.
In 1998, George and Linda
began attending church and
dedicated their lives to the
Lord Jesus Christ, who gave
George much peace and com-
fort through his battle with can-
cer.
George was preceded in
death by his parents; his sister,
Emily Chavez; and great-
granddaughter, Kristen Green.
He is survived by his wife,
Linda Suniga; former wife,
Beverly Suniga; his daughters:
Francie
West
(Harry),
Stephanie Fry (Rich), Terri
Nordone (Rocky) and Tami
Suniga; his grandchildren:
Jeffrey Green (Sherry), Bryce
Britton, Cory Green (Amanda)
and Brennen Britton; six great-
grandchildren; his beloved
brother, Frank Suniga (Zelda)
all of Salem; and sister Lou
Chavez of Davis, Calif.
Come for a celebration of
George’s life on Wednesday,
July 5, at 11 a.m., at Salem
Alliance Church, 1490 Fifth
St. NE in Salem.
In lieu of floral gifts,
please consider making a
donation to Salem Alliance
Church in memory of
George R Suniga.
George was recently inter-
viewed by a representative
from the Willamette Heritage
Center for a series called
“Voices of the Valley.”
For more of George’s history
go to YouTube and search
“George Suniga.”
JOHNSON—Julia Lorraine
Johnson died June 26, 2017, at
in the home of her brother
Mike and wife Dorothy
Libby’s home in Mohawk
Valley.
She was born May 25, 1958,
the day of the Rhododendron
Festival parade, to Byron and
Elsie (Miles) Libby.
Preceding her in death were:
her father, Byron Libby; her
uncle Jim Libby; and her
estranged
husband,
Christopher Johnson.
She leaves behind, her two
sons: Christopher Michael
Johnson ad Scott Idar Johnson;
her two remaining sisters,
Twila Rae Steiner of Receda,
Calif., who nursed her to the
end, and sister Barbara Jean
Johnson (Keith); her brother
Mike (Dorothy) Libby; and her
mother, Elsie Marie (Seth)
Caldwell; plus many cousins,
nieces and nephews.
An
immediate
family
reunion get-together is planned
for Monday, July 3, from 1 to 3
p.m. at Bayberry Square, 185
Highway 101 N.
Talk to your
neighbors,
then talk
to me.
Sue Gilday Insurance Agcy Inc
Sue Gilday, Agent
1275 Rhododendron Drive
Florence, OR 97439
Bus: 541-997-7161
See why State Farm insures
more drivers than GEICO and
Progressive combined. Great
service, plus discounts of up
to 40 percent.*
Like a good neighbor,
State Farm is there.
CALL FOR QUOTE 24/7.
Siuslaw Outreach Services
(SOS) will be taking signups
for new applicants for Low
Income
Home
Energy
Assistance
Program
(LIHEAP). The LIHEAP pro-
gram is a one-time grant
designed to help low-income
households deal with the bur-
den of heating cost.
For this round of signups,
eligible applicants must not
have received LIHEAP since
Nov. 1, 2016.
Sign-ups will begin at 9
a.m., on Monday, July 3.
Applicants can sign up in per-
son or by phone.
For more information, con-
tact Dianna at 541-997-2816.
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